The amendment passed by 233-189 with bipartisan support. It was co-sponsored by Representatives Joe Heck (R-NV), Sam Farr (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Tom Reed (R-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Jared Polis (D-CO). Not all Oregonians get such great representation in the House of Representatives. This Oregon writer’s congressman is Greg Walden, a neocon, prohibitionist Republican. Yet even Greg Walden voted this excellent amendment, one of 57 Republicans. After the vote Congressman Blumenauer noted,

This is an historic moment and further proof there is real movement and bipartisan support in reforming outdated federal marijuana policies. There is more to be done, and I will build on today’s momentum and continue my efforts in catching federal policy up to reflect the views held by a majority of Americans.

Shamefully, until this law takes place next year, it remains illegal for VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis to help wounded veterans, even it states with medical exemptions. “Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) specifically prohibits its medical providers from completing forms allowing a qualified veteran to participate in a state medical marijuana program.”

A lot of them are suffering from PTSD, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and these are all conditions that have been shown to respond to medical marijuana. The notion that the VA would not allow its doctors to consult with and work with veterans regarding medical marijuana in states where it’s legal I thought was outrageous.

Interest in cannabis liberation extends back to the 1960s for Don Fitch. Most of his career has been in high tech and preventive health care, endeavors he continues with Well-Being Skills, focused now on ebook publishing. Don has always followed and contributed to efforts for ending marijuana prohibition. An Oregonian whose vision is endangered by glaucoma, Don has benefited from his state’s 1998 medical cannabis law, and his eyesight is fully preserved.
Don has been writing about cannabis and well-being since 2008 in his blog, www.YourBrainOnBliss.com. This site explores the bountiful health benefits stemming from the discovery of the endocannabinoid system and increasingly legal medical cannabis. The impact of these discoveries, and the use of marijuana in prevention and treatment, may be as important to health care as were the microelectronic discoveries Don wrote about in the early ’80s were to our on-going technological revolution.
His major goal, still frustrated after decades, is to see cannabis down-scheduled from Schedule I at the federal level.
For fun, Don flies paragliders and travels.